A major MERS outbreak in South Korea that scared off tourists dealt a blow to flag carrier Korean Air, whose net loss widened by 54 per cent last year according to figures released today.
The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome infected 186 people and killed 36 of them in the South - the largest outbreak outside Saudi Arabia where the virus originated.
The outbreak - which peaked in June and July before being declared over in December - took a heavy toll on the nation's economy, especially tourism-related business.
The airline's net loss for 2015 widened to 703 billion won (USD 582.2 million), up 53.6 percent from a loss of 457.8 billion won in 2014, Korean Air said in a statement.
The airline gave no explanation today for the increased loss, but last year it blamed the MERS outbreak for a decline in sales.
Sales fell 3.1 per cent year-on-year to 11.5 trillion won.
The number of foreign visitors to the South dropped 6.8 per cent to 13.2 million last year, the first decline in 12 years.
